Do You Have an Air Fryer?

[mountainsoft]

I have been thinking about getting an air fryer, but I'm debating how much we would actually use it. We rarely eat fried food, but I've seen videos and recipes for fish, chicken, vegetables, and some desserts that look quick and easy. Still, I'm not sure if it would be any faster or more convenient than using the microwave or oven. Not to mention it would be one more appliance to clean and store (the latter is a big concern in our small kitchen).

On the other hand, I rarely bake anything in the oven because it takes so much time and energy to heat it up. Especially if I'm only sticking a piece of fish or something in there.

I bought a dehydrator a while back (only $20 or so, no big expense) thinking I would make a lot of jerky and dried fruits. But we quickly tired of jerky (sticks in teeth and too much salt) and we rarely eat dried fruit. I've probably dried tomatoes more than anything. The novelty wore off and it has been sitting in the cabinet for a few months. I would rather not repeat that experience with an air fryer, especially considering the higher cost.

Anyway, do you have an air fryer, which model, and how often do you actually use it? What do you use it for most often?

 

[braumeister]

Have you looked at these threads?

https://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/air-fryer-question-109944.html

https://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/went-down-the-air-fryer-rabbit-hole-113452.html

 

[aja8888]

They are a PIA to clean. DD gave me hers and it just sits on my counter.

 

[euro]

I have been thinking about getting an air fryer, but I'm debating how much we would actually use it. We rarely eat fried food, but I've seen videos and recipes for fish, chicken, vegetables, and some desserts that look quick and easy. Still, I'm not sure if it would be any faster or more convenient than using the microwave or oven. Not to mention it would be one more appliance to clean and store (the latter is a big concern in our small kitchen).

On the other hand, I rarely bake anything in the oven because it takes so much time and energy to heat it up. Especially if I'm only sticking a piece of fish or something in there.

I bought a dehydrator a while back (only $20 or so, no big expense) thinking I would make a lot of jerky and dried fruits. But we quickly tired of jerky (sticks in teeth and too much salt) and we rarely eat dried fruit. I've probably dried tomatoes more than anything. The novelty wore off and it has been sitting in the cabinet for a few months. I would rather not repeat that experience with an air fryer, especially considering the higher cost.

Anyway, do you have an air fryer, which model, and how often do you actually use it? What do you use it for most often?

I'll be interested in reading the responses too as I'm in a similar conundrum. I know good number of folks who LOVE their air fryers, and I can envision using it for several types of dishes, but like you, I fear that once the novelty has worn off, it will just sit.

 

[euro]

They are a PIA to clean. DD gave me hers and it just sits on my counter.

Yeah, THAT is definitely a BIG strike against i my book too!

 

[cyber888]

Air Fryer is the best for me - Yes, we love ours. I cook crispy bacon there almost everyday for breakfast and Hotdogs with one push button. Crispy Fried Chicken are a breeze to do.

It is the EASIEST to CLEAN for me ..
after we bought a few container liners in Amazon for the Air Fryer (Link below), and that allows us not needing to clean it every day. With a couple of these liners, you can clean it once a week or 3x a month (not everyday). You can just drain the oil after use, and no need for daily cleaning. Most liners can tolerate 400 F heat. Link below. Wife just put them on the dishwasher and done.

Read the reviews at Amazon.com of how people have eliminated cleaning difficulties. So easy.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BB6MB956/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

 

[Flieger]

Anyway, do you have an air fryer, which model, and how often do you actually use it? What do you use it for most often?

Have one, Not sure the model, but relatively inexpensive Black Friday purchase last year. Yes, use it to reheat fries, wings, etc and to make breaded fried okra (basically the reason I bought it!

Frequency I would say a couple of times/month for one of the above.

Flieger

 

[Chuckanut]

It is a great reheating device but then so is my toaster oven. When my air fryer dies I will rely solely on my toaster oven.

 

[CardsFan]

We have an older model Gourmia, analog settings and basket style. The round basket is small, but big enough for two.

It works great for French fries, breaded okra, toasted raviolis (yeah, a St. Louis thing), and just about any frozen food that you would normally bake to make it crispy.

Also great for re-heating quiche, crab rangoon, fried chicken, chicken wings, and fried fish. Basically anything you fried when you originally cooked it can be re-heated to (almost) the same texture.

Ours is a breeze to clean. All non-stick coated. A quick wash and rinse, then put it back on for 10 minutes to dry everything.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

It is built into one of the bays in our double oven.

 

[jollystomper]

We dipped our toes into the Air Fryer pool in 2022 with a simple Gourmia model that was on a 50% off sale at Costco (*not* the ones that were recalled). We like it. We do not have any issues with cleaning it (non-stick, easy to rinse, plus a rack that can be used inside of it). We usually use it for what I will call "convenience" foods and vegetables. We like the taste foods cooked it have better than what they taste from being microwaved, with less effort than the oven. It has a small footprint so takes up little counter space, but is big enough for the needs of the two of us.

 

[Fermion]

Our new oven has a air fryer mode so I threw away our portable one.

 

[savory]

We have an older model Gourmia, analog settings and basket style. The round basket is small, but big enough for two.

It works great for French fries, breaded okra, toasted raviolis (yeah, a St. Louis thing), and just about any frozen food that you would normally bake to make it crispy.

Also great for re-heating quiche, crab rangoon, fried chicken, chicken wings, and fried fish. Basically anything you fried when you originally cooked it can be re-heated to (almost) the same texture.

Ours is a breeze to clean. All non-stick coated. A quick wash and rinse, then put it back on for 10 minutes to dry everything.

This reflects our experience. Different foods that taste very good and the unit is easy to clean. DW does most of the cooking and loves it.

 

[skyking1]

We had a gourmia, and recently got the Ninja Foodi that flips up out of the way .
https://www.costco.com/ninja-foodi-10-in-1-digital-air-fry-oven-pro.product.4000105708.html

It works well. The dial is faster and easier than pushing a button repeatedly to change the time and temperature. So far I have only used the air fryer mode, it has several others.

 

[W2R]

They are a PIA to clean. DD gave me hers and it just sits on my counter.

I don't have one, and don't plan to get one. This is because I'm lazier than aja8888 and consequently I don't cook any more.

Usually Frank gets us take-out from a nearby restaurant. Or, when that is not convenient due to hurricanes or other emergency conditions, I make sandwiches and/or warm up some canned soup. That's as far as I go any more when it come to cooking.

I guess I stopped cooking when I was so sick with Covid double pneumonia that I couldn't, back when I was 73 years old. Now I'm over that awful illness, but also by now I'm 75 years old and not inclined to take up cooking ever again because TBH there are other things that I prefer to do with my time. Anyone who thinks there isn't a chef in New Orleans who can cook better than them, seriously needs to get their ego checked IMO. And finally, I don't travel, so I can afford to not cook any more.

 

[Jerry1]

I’m sure I’d like one. DD loves hers BUT, she has kids and they use it a lot for out of the freezer food, like chicken nuggets. Me and DW wouldn’t use it enough to make it worth giving up some of our limited counter space. We just use or convection oven and it works well.

 

[braumeister]

I like my Ninja air fryer very much and have used it once or twice a week since I got it. I consider it the best possible way to cook bratwurst, chicken thighs/drumsticks/wings, and similar items.

It's easy to clean if you give it a good spray of Pam before putting your food in it. Just pour the grease into your grease container after removing the food, fill it part way with water and a bit of Dawn, let it soak five minutes, rinse and dry.

 

[aja8888]

I don't have one, and don't plan to get one. This is because I'm lazier than aja8888 and consequently I don't cook any more.

LOL!

We could have a contest here and see who is the winner. I have been in the newly built house since 9/12/2022 and have not used the new gas stove or new dishwasher in the kitchen yet!

If I have to "cook" (warm up) anything, it's in the microwave.

 

[Sanstar]

We recently replaced our electric, traditional stove for an induction stove with traditional bake, convection, broiler, and air fryer oven. Haven’t used the broiler but the air fry or convection oven settings are used every day. Just made buffalo cauliflower bites and make crispy fries at least 3 x a week for grands. In fact, I love it so much when we move into our new house being built now, we’ll switch out the new builder-provided electric stove/oven with our current one. Same for our Bosch dishwasher.

I prepare most of our food from scratch and find it keeps me in the moment and the “what ifs” at bay. This includes jams, breads, ice cream, and all our other eats. DD got counter air fryer and loves it.

 

[Kork13]

We have a basic air fryer, received it as a gift. It's great for cooking small portions, or re-crisping leftovers. It's also faster, only takes 50-75% of the time compared to the oven, plus no pre-heat.

We have young kids, so alot of is use is chicken nuggets or tater tots, freezer stuff that does well getting crispy. But I've also used it for roasting broccoli & other vegetables, doing a quick bake on a chicken breast, and other stuff.

Yes, it's called a "fryer", because it does well at making food crispy/crunchy. But that doesn't mean it's got to be unhealthy. It uses no oil besides what's in/on your food. It's basically just a small countertop convection oven with a comparatively powerful blower fan. It's a useful little gadget, especially if you often cook for just 1-2 portions.

 

[arbeadub]

I doubt I will ever buy another conventional oven or range again. The counter top convection oven is my go to for baking or crisping, an electric pressure cooker and an induction hot plate does most everything else.

 

[disneysteve]

They are a PIA to clean.

We don't find that to be true at all. Just the opposite actually. We have a Ninja Foodie and it's very easy to clean.

 

[disneysteve]

We have a Ninja Foodie. We really like it and have made a variety of things in there. The one thing that keeps us from using it more is we don't have the counter space in our kitchen to keep it out all the time. If we could leave it on the counter, we would definitely use it more. It's so convenient to make a whole meal in one pot and it's super easy clean up.

 

[disneysteve]

It's a useful little gadget, especially if you often cook for just 1-2 portions.

It's also good for cooking things in bulk to freeze for later like soup, meatballs, mac and cheese, etc. The sorts of things you would use a crock pot for.

 

[DJRR]

Love ours. Think it was a Ninja from Costco. Very easy to clean. I use if for:

Salmon - 12 - 14 minutes
Sweet Potatoes - 55 minutes
Sausages - 9 minutes
Chicken Wings - 24 minutes
Steaks, etc. Just google air fryer xxx and you will get recipes.

Find it much better quality than a microwave and more convenient than the oven.